Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has launched a national soil testing drive to help farmers match fertiliser use to their land's specific needs.
Kagwe said about 63 per cent of Kenya’s arable land is acidic, with nearly seven million acres classified as strongly acidic, making soil testing critical to improving agricultural productivity.
Speaking at the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) headquarters in Kabete, Nairobi, Kagwe launched the Soilfer initiative alongside the National Soil Partnership, National Soil Laboratory Network and the national rollout of the Global Soil Doctors Programme.
He also officially handed over the refurbished KALRO Soil Chemistry Laboratories, which were upgraded at a cost of Sh220 million.
Kagwe warned that subsidised fertiliser could fail to benefit farmers if it was applied without determining the condition and nutrient requirements of their soil.
“A bag of the wrong fertiliser, delivered on time, at half the price, to the wrong soil, is still the wrong fertiliser,” Kagwe said.
“Subsidy without a soil test is sympathy. It is not strategy.”
The Cabinet Secretary said soil testing should become a routine part of farming, comparing it to medical diagnosis.
He said farmers should not be expected to apply the same fertiliser to different soils with different nutrient levels and acidity.
Kagwe shared his own experience as a farmer, saying he previously bought fertiliser based on what was commonly used in his area.
A subsequent soil test, he said, showed that he was supplying nutrients his land already had while failing to address deficiencies.
“I was not farming. I was gambling. I was farming blind,” he said.
Kagwe said the government was seeking to make fertiliser subsidies more targeted by linking them to soil information.
More than eight million farmers are registered on the Kenya Integrated Agricultural Management Information System (KIAMIS), while more than 180,000 bags of subsidised fertiliser were moved daily through National Cereals and Produce Board stores and registered outlets during the height of a planting season.
He said the government now wants to use soil data to improve the effectiveness of such support.
Kagwe directed KALRO to continue analysing about 77,000 soil samples collected from 45 counties and publish county-level soil fertility maps that can be accessed by farmers and other stakeholders.
The Ministry of Agriculture and KALRO will also explore linking soil test results to KIAMIS so that farmers can eventually receive input recommendations based on the specific needs of their land.
The refurbished KALRO soil laboratories are expected to speed up testing and delivery of results.
“A soil result that arrives after the rains have come is a historical document, not a farming decision,” Kagwe said.
The National Soil Partnership will bring together the national government, county governments, KALRO, universities and private-sector players to coordinate soil health initiatives and share information.
The National Soil Laboratory Network will establish common standards for soil testing, while the Global Soil Doctors Programme will train farmers to understand soil health and share the knowledge within their communities.
Kagwe urged county governments to co-finance soil testing services and ensure farmers can access the services closer to their farms.
He also encouraged farmers to use lime to address acidic soils and increase the organic matter in their land.
The Cabinet Secretary said the government would continue its crackdown on counterfeit, expired and substandard agricultural inputs, warning that soil testing would have limited value if farmers purchased products whose contents did not match their labels.
“For a hundred years we have asked our soils what they can give us. Today we begin, at last, to ask them what they need,” Kagwe said.
He also appealed to the Public Service Commission to allow KALRO to recruit additional researchers to operate new research equipment.
Kagwe said about 170 pieces of research equipment were expected to arrive at KALRO and warned that inadequate staffing could limit the benefits of the investment.
“We cannot invest in equipment and then lack the people to put it to work. KALRO needs sufficient researchers to turn that investment into practical solutions for our farmers,” he said.